Tag Archives: LEED

I’ve been critical of Indian green building ratings, their basic limitations and the fact that they can and will be manipulated. Of course this is not restricted to India alone… the problem is worldwide.

Now, a study by the New Delhi-based research organisation, Centre for Science and Environment, CSE, shows that a number of buildings that had been awarded platinum status–the highest achievable rating of the Indian Green Building Council or IGBC–were in fact barely worthy of any rating at all based on the amount of energy and water they consumed. Interestingly, the study was based on building performance data on IGBC’s website itself. A defensive IGBC is now nit-picking about CSE’s method of analysis but whichever way you look at it, the fact remains that the ratings methodology looks severely flawed.

How is it possible for the difference between the theoretical consumption–on the basis of which the rating is given–and the actual consumption, to be so vast? To my mind, it strikes at the very root of the problem when the system rewards you for your stated intent (genuine or otherwise) instead of rewarding you for your actions. It is all very well to brag that your building has a fantastic green rating but this has to be borne out by actual performance.

Many state governments give tax-breaks and extra floor-space for green buildings so the incentive to obtain a certification can be huge. It is, unfortunately, all too easy to claim one thing at the time of rating and then shift the goal-posts at a later date.

Now that this latest can of worms has been opened, let us hope for a positive change in the way ratings are given and retained. With so many big names and businesses involved, however, there is always a chance that they will collectively try to sweep it under the carpet; and use the old system of discrediting the whistle-blower.

New Delhi, June 7: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of high performance buildings in India and Southeast Asia.

Essentially, apart from lavishing praise on each other in their press-releases, they’re talking about making it easier for projects to have dual certification by “offering seamless pathways” to do so. However, what we still don’t know–and what they haven’t spelt out–is how they plan to reconcile their fundamentally different approaches to sustainable construction.

One wonders what compulsions made these two reach out to each other. Let’s not fool ourselves that it was an altruistic move for the betterment of all mankind. This was a hard business decision and there must be some powerful financial reasons behind it.

What will it mean for the future of GRIHA? Are they running scared because LEED certification has greater aspirational status and because India is already the third largest market for them outside of the USA? On the other hand, GRIHA is officially backed by the Indian government so, is LEED trying to stick a foot in that door now?

Time will tell of course but I can’t help feeling that TERI has made a blunder.

We all know that the LEED system can be gamed but that it could be turned so completely on its head was news to me.

The Bank of America building at One, Bryant Park, New York has a LEED Platinum rating and was the first skyscraper to ever be awarded this but now, it turns out, it uses more energy per square foot than other building of similar size in all of Manhattan. Wow.

It was hailed as a major achievement by none other than Al Gore who set up his offices there. The basic problem is that LEED is largely based on computerised energy models and “intent”. This makes it open to abuse because it’s easy to purportedly intend something at the design stage and then change the goalposts later on.

Coincidentally, just this morning, I was speaking to a couple of marketing guys who were trying to convince me to attend a “green summit” next month and one of their selling points was LEED. I declined, telling them exactly what I thought of LEED but I wish I’d seen this article just a few hours earlier:

A Rating system for small homes, offices and commercial buildings with built-up area less than 2500sqm

SVAGRIHA is a significantly simplified, faster, easier and more affordable rating system and will eventually function as a design-cum-rating tool. It was required that attention be paid to smaller buildings in India which although have small individual environmental footprints but their cumulative effect is far bigger. SVAGRIHA has been designed as an extension of GRIHA and has been specifically developed for projects with built-up area less than 2500sqm. SVAGRIHA can help in design and evaluation of individual residences, small offices and commercial buildings. The rating comprises of only 14 criteria (instead of 34 of GRIHA) and the interface comprises of simplified calculators. These calculators can be filled using information from construction drawings like areas and quantities of materials. This can be done easily by the architect of the project. Once completed, the tool will tell the consultant the number of points that they are able to achieve in that particular criterion and provide recommendations for any improvements in order to improve the environmental performance of the building.

Process of SVAGRIHA Rating

Registration of project with ADaRSH

Submission of completed calculators, drawings and other documents as required (quantity estimates) to ADaRSH

Assessment/Review as per SVAGRIHA

Site Visit and due diligence check post construction (mandatory)

Evaluation by GRIHA certified Evaluator

Award of Rating.

Note: The site audit to check compliance will be done once the project is complete and all equipment to be verified are installed.

GRIHA is the national green rating system for India developed by TERI and the Indian Government. I’ve always felt that GRIHA is far more suitable for us than (the more popular & better known) LEED rating system.

SVAGRIHA has just 14 criteria compared to GRIHA’s 34 and can act as a good checklist at the design stage.

Looking at the point groups, I’m happy to note the weight given to Energy and Water conservation. At the same time, to achieve a rating, the design must achieve minimum standards in all categories. So while they say that 25 our of 50 points will give you a one star rating, adding up all the minimums means you actually need at least 28 points. And finally, the table below shows the star rating that can be achieved.

This is an interesting and a whole new angle on the LEED debate. Essentially what is being said is that tightly sealing a building (to make the air-conditioning system more energy efficient) also locks in hazardous chemicals with complete disregard for indoor air quality.

There is no doubt that the LEED ratings have brought the need for energy efficient buildings to the forefront. However, the system is easily exploited to get what the author of this article calls, “a shiny green stamp” for an unsustainable building. You get good points for installing bike racks (that may or may not be used) – even in places like Dubai (would any sane person be cycling to work in 45°C heat?) or Bombay (with no extra points for putting your life in danger!).

But seriously, what is damning is that there is no guarantee of a LEED accredited building actually being energy efficient in practice. Worse, once you have a certification, it’s yours for life and even if the building turns out to be an environmental disaster, the rating stays.

If you ask me, the huge amount of money spent getting the certification could be used much more effectively to install photovoltaic panels or something.

This article from ConstructionWeek is sure to fuel a debate that could go on forever with proponents of both systems backing their favourite. Any rating system can be manipulated and, in this regard, GRIHA scores higher because there is lot less scope to fudge it. More importantly, LEED gives points for, say, high-tech systems to save air-conditioning costs whereas GRIHA rewards you for passive cooling that does away with the air-conditioning in the first place – a far more appropriate strategy in a country that is chronically short of power.

At the end of the day, I just use the GRIHA checklist to do a self-analysis and see if there is some way to improve the design.

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Vistasp Mehta is a Mumbai-based architect working on sustainable design, with a special emphasis on energy and water conservation. Other obsessions include art, history, technology, wildlife and photography.